Monsignor
Balducci is a Vatican theologian and an insider close to the Pope.
He has been featured on national Italian television numerous times
to express that extraterrestrial contact is a real phenomenon and “not
due to psychological impairment”.

In this
testimony he explains that not only the general populous but also
highly credible, cultured, and educated people of high status are
recognizing more and more that this is a real phenomenon. He goes on
to speak about the extraterrestrial people as part of God’s creation
and that they are not angels nor are they devils. However they are
probably more spiritually evolved.

“The Lord certainly did not limit His glory to this small Earth. On other
planets other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we did."
- St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968), canonized June 16, 2002

Msgr. Balducci is one of the
best-known and most respected Italian theologians. The Roman priest and
Curia member served the Holy See as a diplomat and member of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples ("Propaganda Fide"). He is
an expert on demonology and parapsychology, was for several years the
exorcist of the diocese of Rome, the Pope’s diocese. Msgr. Balducci wrote
several books, including the bestseller "Il Diavolo" (the Devil) which
reached 14 print runs in the hardcover edition. Furthermore he is a
regular guest in the Italian State TV (Rai Due), where he made several
statements on the UFO phenomenon since 1995. He spoke on the UFO
congresses in Acapulco and San Marino. We publish his paper for the first
time in an English translation. It is indeed noteworthy, since it is the
very first detailed statement of a senior Roman Catholic theologian and
Curia member on the UFO phenomenon. More than that, it demonstrates the
openness of the Roman Catholic church in this question and can be
considered the first ever complex positive statement regarding the UFO/ET
reality from the point of view of a major world religion - with its over 1
Billion faithful, the RC Church is indeed the largest religious community
on Earth. Note that since the first Balducci-statement also H.H., the
Dalai Lama (for Tibetan Buddhism), several Jewish rabbis in Israel and, in
2001, the Muslim authorities of Turkey followed with positive statements
on this subject. Therefore it can be said that UFOs are not only “no
problem” for the largest Christian church, but also for other world
religions.

I. UFOs: THERE MUST BE SOMETHING TRUE ABOUT THEM

There is a great and
constantly growing number of eyewitness testimony about the so-called
"flying saucers", spacecraft and Extraterrestrials. Many of these
eyewitnesses are highly qualified observers with a profound education, who
did not believe in them before they had their personal encounter. On
November 4, 1988, Mrs. Fioschini, TV host of the program "Misteri" on RAI
Due, stated: "There are thousands of persons in all the world who claim
that they saw a UFO at least once, and many even claim a contact with
their crews." On this base it can no longer be denied that there is
indeed something true about them. Any skepticism would be completely
unjustified und unreasonable! Of course some eyewitness reports are based
on imagination, hallucination or external influence. In other instances
they were caused by atmospheric phenomena, lenticular clouds or ball
lightning. Again others turned out to be state-of-the-art aircraft types
of the Americans and Russians, tested during the Cold War. Already during
World War II, sighted UFOs were thought to be the secret weapon of the
enemy. But all this is not enough to explain a great part of the
eyewitness testimony and the UFO phenomenon itself. Even the most careful
investigation can only reduce the number of real cases and sift the chaff
from the wheat, but can never explain them all satisfactorily, as the past
has taught us.

In many countries professional or semi-professional organizations
investigate UFO sightings in cooperation with scientists and experts to
separate explainable from unidentifiable cases. In France there is the
governmental SEPRA, in Italy the "National Ufological Center" CUN, which
exists for nearly 40 years and is headed by Dr. Roberto Pinotti, or, since
5 years, the CIFAS (Council of International Federation of Advanced
Studies), founded by Air force General Salvatore Marcheletti, which
investigates the position of man in space.

Let me add one more important point: The general a priori-skepticism, the
systematic, total denial, damages, even destroys the basic value of the
human testimony with grave and incalculable consequences, since it is
indeed the fundament of human society, if individual, social or religious.
Of course there is always one or the other exemption, there are errors and
lies, but generally all our life is based on what we learned from others.
It is unthinkable to live without this basic confidence, unimaginable are
the consequences of a general negation of the human experience on the
individual, social and religious life. It would destroy the very fundament
of any human society!

This applies to the religious life, too. Indeed the Christian religion is
based on the testimony of humans who became witnesses of God's revelation
in historical events. In 1937, the theologian and Jesuit Father Herbert
Thurston stated: "On one point of the logic view the Christian accepts
the miracle reports of the Gospels ... our complete apologetic concept
bases on the trust in the veracity of the Gospels." (La Chiesa e lo
Spiritismo, Milano 1937, o.179). Therefore is "the systematic
demolition and defamation of the human testimony, the simple reduction on
dates and facts, contradictory to our Faith in the historicity of the
Gospels and therefore indirectly to the faith in the Christian
revelation." (p. 157)

II. THEOLOGICAL AND BIBLICAL REMARKS ABOUT THE INHABITABILITY OF OTHER
PLANETS

Let me state very clearly:
We can exclude that angels use spaceships. As purely spiritual beings,
angels can project themselves at any place they want to reach and, in rare
instances, when they want to reveal themselves, take a visible form
without any difficulty. The same is certain for the defunct. When the Holy
Virgin wants to reveal Herself to Mankind (as it happened in rare,
well-documented cases) she chose forms in which She can express Her love
and care as a mother and Her motherly compassion with us. We don't even
have to waste a thought on the devil and his demons, who still kept their
angelic nature, being fallen angels and therefore also purely spiritual
beings, since they are limited in their activity by God and therefore not
able to bring all their hatred to us. "If the devil would take the
initiative, not a single living being would remain on Earth", St.
Augustine wrote. (ML37, 1246). St. Bonaventura added: "The cruelty of
the demon is so immense that he could swallow us any moment, if we were
not under divine protection." ("Diaeta ssalutis", tit.7,c.1, Verona
1748, S.183)

When we talk about "Extraterrestrials", we refer to humanoid beings
which are, like us, of both, a spiritual and a material nature, a physical
body (for which to move they indeed need spacecraft), although in their
case the relationship between mind and matter might be a different one
than in our case. For this, we do not have scientific evidence yet,
although we are approaching this question slowly thanks to an increasing
number of careful studies and research. In regards to the biblical and
theological aspect of this question, let me state:

1. It is very well possible that other inhabited
planets exist. We do not find any direct reference to extraterrestrial
life in the Bible, but it neither excludes their existence. Since God's
wisdom and omnipotence has no limits and is infinite indeed, this
possibility doubtlessly exists.

2. The existence of other inhabited planets is
highly probable. The distance between the angels, purely spiritual beings,
and us, beings of spirit and matter, body and soul is too large. Our soul
cannot act without the body, its unalterable means, which through its
passions and sinfulness influences the soul so deeply that man becomes
unstable and rather tends toward the bad than towards the good. Therefore
it is highly probable that in between, between us and the angels, another life form exists, namely beings which
still have a physical body but one which is more perfect than ours and
influences the soul less in its intelligent acts and intentions. This
assumption is confirmed by the ancient principle defined by Lucrezio Caro
as "Natura non favit saltus" (The Nature makes no jumps, see "De rerum
natura"), still quoted by theologians.

We find another thought regarding the infinity of
the creation and the Glory of God in Psalm 18 (19): "The heavens declare
the glory of God". Only man can consciously worship God, because of his
free will and intelligence. Therefore several theologians consider it not
only possible but very probable that out there in Space, unreachable for
our scientific instruments, other beings exist who recognize and
venerate God since they realized this as the reason and meaning of their
world and the creation itself.

The Jesuit Father P. Domenico Grasso, a theologian of the Pontifical
University "Gregoriana" in Rome, stated: "Why should all the
perfection, God gave so richly to the Universe, be hidden and should not
declare His glory? Who writes a book and is sure that it will never be
read? Who paints a painting and hides it thereafter, and nobody can see
it?". Then he quotes the German theologian
Joseph Pohle, who wrote in his book of 1904 ("Die Sternenwelt und ihre
Bewohner" - "The celestial realms and their inhabitants", Cologne 1904, p.
457): "It seems to be the purpose of the Universe that the celestial
bodies are inhabited by beings who reflect the glory of God in the beauty
of their bodies and worlds as man does, in a limited way, in his world."
But they are not angels, Father Grasso added, since angels are purely
spiritual beings and can perceive matter only indirectly, just as we can
only indirectly perceive the world of the spirit.

3.The inhabitability of other planets is not only
possible and probable, but also desirable. In the future, even in a
far-distant-one, their possible inhabitants, if they are indeed superior
to us, can help and support us in our spiritual development. In this way,
which we cannot prove, they might have helped and protected us
already in the past. If indeed intelligent beings
exist on other planets, their existence might very well be correlated with
the Salvation through Christ. It is certain that Christ is the center and
head of the creation or universe, as St. Paul already stated (Col. 1,
16-17). Therefore there exists no world which is not related to Him. As
the Word Incarnate, He has, as the Bible confirms, an influence on every
possible inhabited planet. To quote the Apostle: "For by Him all things
were created that are in heaven and that are on Earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All
things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things
and in Him all things consist... For it pleased the Father that in Him all
the fullness should dwell. And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself,
by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace
through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1, 16-20)

The Church celebrates the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year (in November)
as the Feast of Christ the King, and in its liturgy Christ is clearly
defined as the king of the Universe, remembering the universality of His
kingdom, which is also expressed in the daily Mass.

III.
SOME CONFIRMING STATEMENTS

There exist several
interesting statements on the inhabitability of other worlds by lay
scientists, theologians or servants of God which already qualified for a
process of beatification or canonization. Beginning with the laymen, let
me quote the great French scientist Charles Richter (1850-1935), the
founder of Metapsychics (today called Parapsychology). He was a
materialist. In 1922, in his "Traite de Metapsychique", he stated: "Do we
have any right to claim, just because of our limited senses and our
mistaken intelligence, that man is the only intelligent being in this
immense cosmos? ... That other intelligences, different from us, exist, is
not only possible but extremely probable. It is absurd to claim that we
are the only intelligence in nature... the existence of these beings
cannot be proven, but the probability of their existence is evident."

Among the theologians I want to refer to, are:

1. Cardinal Nikolaus Cusanus (1401-1464). He stated: "We are not
authorized to exclude that on another star beings exist which are
completely different from us."
2. The Jesuit Father and astronomer Fr. Angelo Secchi (1818-1876) wrote:
"It is absurd to claim that the worlds surrounding us are large,
uninhabited worlds and that the meaning of the universe lies just in our
small, inhabited planet."
3. The famous Dominican preacher Jacques-Marie-Louis Monsabre (1827-1907)
referred to the principle "Natura non facit saltus" when he claimed that
other intelligent beings besides men and angels exist.
4. The already quoted English Jesuit Father Herbert Thurston wrote: "Who
can claim that there are no other intelligent beings besides angels,
demons and men in the Universe? I do not intend to confirm the possibility
I indicated in my question as a fact, but I ask: Who can be sure about
it."

Of the servants of God either qualified for a beatification or just
canonized, I only want to refer:

1. The Salesian Father and Servant of God Don Andrea Beltrami (1870-1897)
who prayed also for the inhabitants of other planets. Of the 16 booklets
he wrote, one is said to deal with this topic; unfortunately they were not
published yet by the Father Postulator of his cause.
2. The second, with whom I want to close this paper, is the great
stigmatized Capucchin Padre Pio, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on
May 2, 1999 and canonized on June 16, 2002. From St. Fr. Pio,
the following dialogue is documented and officially
published by the Cappuchin Order:

Question: Padre, some claim that there are creatures of God on
other planets, too. Answer: "What else? Do you think they don’t
exist and that God's omnipotence is limited to this small planet Earth?
What else? Do you think there are no other beings who love the Lord?"

Question: Padre, I think the Earth is nothing compared to other
planets and stars. Answer: "Exactly! Yes, and we Earthlings are
nothing, too. The Lord certainly did not limit His glory to this small
Earth. On other planets other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we
did." (Don Nello Castello: Cosi parlo P.Pio, Vicenza 1974)

UFOLOGY
AND THEOLOGICAL CLARIFICATIONS

(Monsignor Corrado Balducci - Pescara, June 8th. 2001)

Over the last 150 years it
have appeared sequentially and with an increasing spreading and frequency
rate, two types of manifestations and phenomena, very different between
them, but both so interesting, controversial and fascinating to divide
public opinion into two different aspects: or everything is real, or well
everything is false. These are spiritualism and ufology. It shouldn't
surprise us this approach, because it's related only to the reactions and
behavior of the public before these two phenomena and not to their
contents, obviously quite different between both of them

Regarding spiritualism, this is a practice for which there are testimonies
across the centuries; in 1847, with the sisters Fox in Hydesville (New
York), it had a special remark and spread rapidly in several countries.
Very soon there was an explanation for the phenomena connected to such
practices, even by the scientists: the souls of the disincarnated, better
said of the dead people, are the cause of this. This was called the
spiritualist hypothesis, against which theologians soon opposed to the so
called demonic hypothesis.

Only by the end of XIX century there were made the first attempts to look
for a natural explanation, and finally in 1922, with the thick book of the
French scientist Charles Richet, Traitè de Mètapsychique , it began
officially the so called Metapsychics, nowadays better known as
Parapsychology.

When I began with my demonic and metapsychic studies back in 1950, I found
myself in a period when, since two decades ago, it was denied the
existence of spiritualist phenomena (and not only by some scientists, but
also by a very wide public opinion), that represented at that time the
most abundant cases of Metapsychics.

The same is valid since some decades on regarding Ufology.

After this premise, we reach our subject, for which I have two very brief
clarifications to expose.

- The acronym UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), is used here in a wider
sense, or even better, including also the existence of living beings in
other planets.

- The aim of my intervention is to underline that something real must
exist in the phenomena, and how this does not contrast at all with
Christian religion, being considered positive even among theologians.

Let's divide the speech in three points:

1. Something real must exist.

2. Theological considerations on the habitability of other planets.

3. Some testimonies favorable to it.

4 - UFO: Something real must exist.

This is a statement coming out from basic considerations based upon common
sense, human rationalism and upon a normal and possible course of our
lives, considering not only individual and social aspects, but also
religious.

In fact, today there is a great amount (still increasing) of testimonies
regarding the so called flying saucers or spaceships and the
extraterrestrials; and among them there are some coming from reliable
persons, with a culture and initially non believers. There are already
hundreds of thousands of eye witnesses in the world that state to have
seen UFO's at least once. There are so many, even in a smaller amount, the
testimonies coming from the so called contactees.

If we consider this, it seems impossible to deny at a rational level that
something real does exist A totally skeptic behavior is not justified at
all, because a priori seems to be against to the elemental prudence
suggested by the good sense.

It is also real that we could think rationally that so large average of
testimonies could be due to illusions, hallucinations and to states of
intense suggestion. In other cases it could be also due to particular
light effects or well to atmospheric phenomena, such as clouds that over
the mountains may show a shape similar to the flying saucers; we could use
as an example the so called ball rays or well globular flashes of
lighting.

Other times UFO's could be confused with certain types of round-shaped
aero planes, that were certainly built in USA since the so called Cold War
(it is also certain that Russia built some aero planes of this type). This
promoted in the period after World War II, the spreading of the idea that
flying saucers were nothing else but new inventions with warring aim,
obviously kept secret.

But these are always inaccurate explanations and considerations to explain
the number of testimonies and the wideness of UFO phenomenon. The most
severe and hard criticism could reduce largely this number, but never will
be able to eliminate all of them.

We also have to remember that in several countries exist places,
organizations and associations that collect evidences and testimonies on
tape, in order to make them examine and study by experts and scientists as
necessary; after that the whole set is catalogued in explainable and non
explainable phenomena. It is not any longer a secret the existence of the
so called Area 51 in the United States, within a zone in the hearth of the
Nevada desert; an enormous land area that has a larger construction
underground than on the surface. In France is famous the SEPRA
association; in Italy there is the CUN, Centro Ufologico Nazionale
(National Ufological Centre), already on its 36th. year of existence, and
with Dr. Roberto Pinotti as President since long ago; also in Italy there
is since 4 years until now the CIFAS ( Council of International Federation
of Advanced Studies ) dedicated to study the relationships between man and
extraterrestrial space, which President is still Gen. Salvatore
Marcelletti.

Regarding the existence of something real within UFO phenomenon, I must
add another consideration that was left for last to better underline its
importance. And this is, that a generalized, systematic and total
incredulity finally would weaken and destroy the value of human testimony,
with serious and unforeseeable consequences, because that is the base of
life not only individual and social, but also religious.

In fact, testimony is a form of communication of our faith in our partner.
This is a widely spread way on daily life (when listening news, spending,
buying, etc.). Let's imagine what could happen on individual and social
life if the value of human testimony was weaken, with the logical decrease
and disappearance of that faith many times is essential for daily life

After this, I have extended such inconveniences to religious life; in
fact, also Christian religion is based upon human testimony, being the
Divine Revelation an historical fact.

In 1937 Jesuit theologian Herbert Thurston wrote on purpose: From a
logical point of view, Christians that accept miracles and other episodes
related on the Gospel... they cannot reject in an obstinate way the
reiterated testimonies of modern and reliable witnesses, that relate what
their eyes have seen... All our Apologetic system is based upon the belief
in the Truth said in the Gospel ( Church and Spiritualism ; Milan, 1937;
p.p. 179). For that: systematic demolition and discredit of human
testimonies regarding simple fact data, seem to me contrary in principle
to all belief on the historic seriousness of Gospel, and indirectly, to
every belief on Christian Revelation (Op. Cit. p.p. 157).

II.
Theological and biblical considerations on the habitability of other
planets.

First of all a
clarification: we should exclude that angels use spaceships, due to the
fact that they are merely spiritual beings, and that they are wherever
they want to be, and in the rare cases when they show themselves, they
don't have any difficulty to assume a visible form. The very same we can
say about dead people. Holy Virgin, in the very few cases when she could
consider to be in contact with human people (very exceptional episodes and
to be confirmed in their authenticity), continues to choose other very
different ways to transmit us her maternal affection, to manifest us her
urgencies, to communicate us her maternal claims or to give us her sweet
reproaches. Even keeping their angelic nature, we shouldn't think about
the devils at all, because they are connected in their liberty to God on
their extraordinary activity, and in that way they are disabled to express
their terrible and malefic hate regarding us. Let's remember St. August:
If the devil by his own initiative could do anything, even a single living
being would not stay on Earth (ML 37, 1246); let's remember also to St.
Buenaventura: Is so large the demon's cruelty, that he would swallow us in
every moment, if Divine protection don't guard us ( Diaeta salutis , tit.
7 c.1, Verona 1748, p. 183).

Therefore, when speaking about extraterrestrials, we must think in beings
like us, or well and preferably in other types of living beings, that in
their spiritual part they have associated a material one; better said, a
body in a better state than the one existing for us as humans.

There is not a scientific certainty yet about this problem, even if this
seems to be closer and closer, thanks to the progress of science and
study. Regarding the theological and biblical aspect of this matter, we
can remark three points, three affirmations in favor from the various
considerations:

1. Before all, that exist other inhabited planets is something possible.
In the Bible there are not specific allusions to other living beings, but
neither is excluded this hypothesis, that for this stays as possible, if
we think that God's omnipotence and wisdom have no limits, being infinite.

2. Furthermore, the existence of other inhabited planets is something
credible. In fact, there is a great diversity between angels, merely
spiritual beings and us, composed by spirit and matter; better said, soul
and flesh, but a soul that cannot act if don't use the body as an
instrument; a body that makes with its passions and capital vices
conditional the soul to the point of make human person so fragile, and
more devoted to evil than to goodness. Therefore is credible that this
enormous distance between us and the angels could be reduced by the
presence of beings that, having also a body (even if more perfect), their
soul is less conditioned on their intelligent and volitional acting.

If necessary, there is another confirmation upon the very ancient saying
of Lucrezio Caro: Natura non facit saltus ; a very famous phrase (that I
found on the De rerum natura ) and quoted - regarding that argument - also
by some theologians.

Another consideration is taken for the aim of the creation, or well the
Glory of God, a concept that you can find several times on the Bible. For
instance, Psalm 18 begins by saying precisely: heavens sing the glory of
God . But only human person is able to give this glory to God in a
conscious way , because it has intelligence and free will.

Precisely for this, several theologians say, is not only possible but
credible, that in the spaces that are distant and inaccessible for men and
his scientific instruments, do exist other beings able to know God as
their Creator, and also they give Him this Glory, that for them and their
worlds represent the aim of Creation.

Jesuit Father Domenico Grasso, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical
Gregorian University wrote on purpose: Why all the perfection God has
spread so widely in the universe should be kept hidden without singing the
glory of God? Wouldn't it be a discordance unsuitable for God? Who writes
a book knowing that it will never be read by anyone, or well who paints a
painting to hide it from anyone's sight? .

He claims regarding the statements made by German theologian Joseph Pohle
in one of his books of 1904 (page 457): It seems to be accordingly with
the aim of the world that inhabitable celestial bodies are settled by
creatures that recognize the glory of God in the physical beauties of
their worlds, in the same way man does with his smaller world ( Die
Sternewelt undihre Bewohner - The Stars of Universe and its Inhabitants ;
Köln 1904; pp. 457). Finally Father Grasso concludes: we must think in the
angels to know where God receives the glory from these worlds from,
because them, that are purely spiritual, are not able to know the matter
but indirectly, in the same way man does with the spirit (ib.).

3. Beyond to be something possible and credible, I would see desirable the
inhabitability of other planets. In a future, even if very remote, these
eventual inhabitants, superior to us, could be very helpful to us,
specially in our spiritual path. In a non practical way, they could had
been protecting and helping us since long time ago.

If it is the case that they do really exist intelligent beings on other
planets, it would be easier to understand how to conciliate their
existence with the redemption of Christ. As St. Paul says (cfr. Col. 1,
16-17), a real fact is that Christ is the centre and head of the creation
of the universe. Therefore there are no worlds without a reference of Him.
From the Bible is possible to assure that Christ, as Incarnated Verb, has
total influence upon all the possible inhabited planets.

I quote what said by St. Paul to the Colossians: For by Him all things
were created that are in heaven and that are on Earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All
things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things
and in Him all things consist... For it pleased the Father that in Him all
the fullness should dwell. And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself,
by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace
through the blood of His cross (Col. 1, 16-20).

The Church celebrates the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year (before the
Advent) as the Feast of Christ, King of the universe, and in its liturgy
the universality of His kingdom is remembered, which is also expressed in
the daily Mass.

III. Algunos testimonios a favor.

There exist several interesting statements on the inhabitability of other
worlds by lay scientists, theologians or servants of God which already
qualified for a process of beatification or canonization. Obviously I'll
limit myself to quote just some of them.

Beginning with the laymen, let me quote the great French scientist Charles
Richet (1850 - 1935), that was, among other things, a materialist. In
1922, in his Traitè de Mètapsychique , he stated: Do we have any right to
claim, just because of our limited senses and our mistaken intelligence,
that man is the only intelligent being in this immense cosmos?... That
other intellectual forces, different from us, exist, is not only possible
but extremely probable. It is even certain... It is absurd to claim that
we are the only intelligence in nature... The existence of these beings
cannot be proven, but the probability of their existence is evident (loc.
cit., Paris 1922, pp. 787-788).

I remember 5 theologians:

1. Cardinal Nicolò Cusano (1401 - 1464), philosopher and scientist that
said: We are not authorized to exclude that on another star beings do
exist, even if they are completely different from us .

2. The Jesuit Father and astronomer Fr. Angelo Secchi (1818 - 1876) wrote:
It is absurd to claim that the worlds surrounding us are large,
uninhabited deserts and that the meaning of the universe lies just in our
small, inhabited planet. .

3. The famous Dominican preacher Jacques-Marie-Louis Monsabre (1827 -
1907) referred to the principle Natura non facit saltus when he claimed
that other intelligent beings besides men and angels exist.

4. The already quoted English Jesuit Father Herbert Thurston wrote: Who
can claim that there are no other intelligent beings besides these 3
categories of angels, demons and men in the Universe of God? I do not
intend to confirm the possibility I indicated in my question as a fact,
but I ask: Who can be sure about it? (Op. Cit., pp. 3).

5. German Theologian Giuseppe Pohle: Hypothesis of the plurality of
inhabited worlds is totally favorable to the glory of the Lord. God
creates for His glory, and any glory is possible without intelligent
beings, able to know the creation of the Lord . I remember two persons for
whom there is already going on their process of canonization:

1. The Salesian Father and Servant of God Don Andrea Beltrami (1870 -
1897) who prayed also for the possible inhabitants of other planets. Of
the 16 booklets he wrote, one seems to deal with this topic (and I say
seems because unfortunately I was not able to know the titles of his 16
publications).

2. The second (with whom I want to close this paper), is the already
sanctified Padre Pio, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 2,
1999 and canonized on June 16, 2002. From St. Fr. Pio, the following
dialogue is documented and officially published by the Cappuchin Order:
Question: Father, some claim that there are creatures of God on other
planets, too . Answer: What else? Do you think they don't exist and that
God's omnipotence is limited to this small planet Earth? What else? Do you
think there are no other beings who love the Lord? .

Another question: Father, I think the Earth is nothing compared to other
planets and stars . Answer: Exactly Yes, and we Earthlings are nothing,
too. The Lord certainly did not limit His glory to this small Earth. On
other planets other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we did . (Don
Nello Castello: Così parlò Padre Pio ; Vicenza, 1974).